Trouble in Paradise

It being three weeks on Sunday since our arrival on the sea bound coast of Nova Scotia, and yesterday having gratefully unpacked our very last moving box, we decided on a celebration. Not having the time to visit Barrington Passage’s boastful beaches during getting our new place, which I call ‘The House By The Sea’, in apple pie order, we decided to travel the long distance in getting there. Not finding the main beach we were hoping to see, we decided to go into Barrington’s Sobeys to pick up a couple of items on our way home.

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“I called the police and they will be here any minute to arrest you”

We had noticed a small silver car following us when we hit Barrington Passage, but because the route is a narrow, twisting 2-lane county road, it wouldn’t be out of place to see a car following us. The minute we drove into Sobeys’ parking lot, a man with a SmartPhone, came up to the front of our vehicle, to take a picture of our license plate and us. He told us he had been following us for quite a distance; that we had been weaving in and out of our lane, demanding our names and accused Brian, who was driving our vehicle, of being “drunk”. We denied his accusations— remaining careful not to accelerate the situation. “I have captured everything you did on video,” he said. Brian was greeted with silence when he asked the aggressor for his name. Not only was the man, who looked to be 35 years of age, outlandishly aggressive, he had what I described as “the eyes of a dead fish”. “I called the police and they will be here any minute to arrest you,” he boasted.

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“You have too much time on your hands”

He was blocking Brian’s view of his vehicle, preventing him from being able to see the vehicle’s license plates. The aggressor had jumped out of the passenger seat, and we could see that the driver was female. Brian told him “You have too much time on your hands”, which the aggressor denied. Shaken by this unexpected road encounter, we decided to drive on to a nearby ice cream shop parking lot to assess the situation. As soon as we drove in and parked, two police cars arrived. The RCMP officer in the first vehicle came to the passenger window, asking me where the driver was. Brian had gone into the ice cream shop to get us chocolate milkshakes, hopefully a calming device. When Brian returned to our vehicle minutes later, the officer asked him if he had been drinking. He answered the officer in the negative. “I can see by just looking at you that you are not inebriated,” the officer said.

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Our biggest worry was that ‘Dead Fish Eyes’ and his companion would try to follow all the way home

The officer asked for Brian’s date of birth, our address and inquired what we were doing in Barrington Passage. The officer was courteous and polite. Once finding out that we were new to Nova Scotia, he asked how we were liking it. We told him how much we love it here. He gave us explicit directions for getting to the beach. But our celebratory mood was over. Our biggest worry was that ‘Dead Fish Eyes’ and his companion would try to follow all the way home. We deliberately took a circuitous route back home, looking behind us to make sure ‘Dead Fish Eyes’ was not following us. Thank God he was nowhere in sight. We were lucky that we live too far away from Barrington Passage to make following us, not worth it.

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“The sea air you’re breathing is God’s breath”

Took us awhile to shake off the worry and wonder of what happened out on the quiet county road after our arrival home. We found out this morning that the 87-year-old sister of our friend Paul B., having been told the harrowing story by her brother, was up praying for our safety at 3 a.m. Having convinced ourselves that our tormentor was not lurking outside, we telephoned our dear Colorado friend, artist/CFP columnist David Merrick and his wife Ilene, telling them about our cautionary tale out on the road. David and Ilene, thrilled about how happy we are in our Nova Scotia ‘House By The Sea’, advised us not to let this event color in any way, how we feel about living in picturesque Nova Scotia. Knowing how we leave our bedroom windows open at night to bask in the ocean breeze, David, a former pastor, told us, “the sea air you’re breathing is God’s breath”. Such a soul-stirring comment to dissipate all fears! Meanwhile, God Bless David and Ilene, Paul’s sister and all those who pray for us. It is their prayers that both uplift and keep us going.

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